Photos…a priceless family heirloom…

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Photos…a priceless family heirloom…

My oldest son (on the day he came home from the hospital) who is now almost 20 and his great-grandmother who passed away 13 years ago …priceless moments that can never be replaced…

Share the wealth! If you’re anything like me, your children are used to (not to mention sick of) always having a camera stuck in their face. Photography has always been a hobby of mine, and because of that there are thousands of photos in my house…errrr…locked inside my laptop.

Have you ever heard anyone declare to the news reporter that they wish they could have only had a few more minutes notice before the flood (fire, tornado, etc…) so that they could save their couch??? Nope…the things that these people always mourn are the photographs that they will never be able to replace! Moments and memories that they will never be able to go back and get, no matter how hard they try.

Make it a point this year, to get those digitals out into the tangible world! I have used services such as Walgreens Photo, Shutterfly, or Snapfish. Upload your digital photos and have them made into single prints or books to spread throughout your family. And don’t forget about those “Oldies but Goodies”! Many of us have single prints that were made in the stone ages via polaroid’s and regular film cameras, and we even have those old dusty sepia prints from generations long ago. You know…those pictures that no one would smile in, and someone more than likely forgot to write who they were and where they were on the back. Don’t forget to pass these forward either. Many of these photo sites give free photo prints just for signing into their site, and they give bigger discounts on larger photo orders! This will also save your loved ones tons of grief when you pass on (hopefully of old age), so that your next-of-kins won’t be put in the situation of who gets to “keep” that box (or laptop) of photos to be divided up at a more “comfortable” time.

Don’t get too overwhelmed…take a walk down your memory lane with the photos of your children before they were 6 foot tall! Smile about how little they use to be, scan that old print and send it in to be copied. Get duplicates and triplicates out there! Make sure you are not the next person to not notate who and when the picture was taken either! Don’t be in the mindset that you are going to pass on those single prints to your teenaged son’s future wife; once he finally settles down at the age of 32! Catastrophe is not going to wait until you have all of your photos in a neat little ready-to-pass down package! Pick a “goal” number of photos that you want to get out there (like 50 prints a month, or 10 of my favorites from 5 different events in our family history per month). Taking little bites into that monstrous amount of digital photos that you have amassed will pay off big in the long run. And just think…you’ll get to relive all those precious memories again as you meet your goal each month and pass your priceless family heirlooms on to the ones you love!